OAKLAND — BART directors heard sharply different suggestions to charge anywhere from $3 to $6 fares to ride its new tram to the Oakland International Airport.

The $484 million rail extension is scheduled to open in fall, carrying BART passengers 3.2 miles on elevated tracks between the Coliseum station and the airport. The tram will replace AirBART buses, which cost $3 per ride.

An Oakland Airport executive said the airport favors a cost of no more than $4 per ride, offering a “reasonable” fare that would get the service off to a good start and attract lots of riders.

“Best plan is to set a reasonable rate, do outreach, and build ridership over time,” said Deborah Ale Flint, the airport director of aviation. “We would be very concerned about a fare that is not competitive.”

She said a low fare for the Oakland Airport connector rail service will be good for business both for the airport and the rail service.

Former BART Director Robert Allen of Livermore urged the board to charge a $3 fare, the same fare now charged to use the AirBART shuttle buses that make the same trip. Attracting many riders with a low fare will pay off in the long run, maximizing revenues from the service, Allen said.

But an Oakland-based transit advocacy group disagreed, calling for a $6 fare.

Joel Ramos, community planner with TransForm, said the fare should be set high to hold down the operating subsidy BART will fork out to run the service.

Charging a $4 fare would saddle the 400,000 BART daily riders as a whole with the burden of subsidizing a service used by a relatively small number of people, he said.

BART estimates that some 2,855 riders per day would take the people mover tram to the airport if the fare were $4, and 2,745 per day if the fare were $6.

BART directors listened to the testimony at the public hearing Thursday night and said they will set the fare at their meeting 9 a.m. June 12.

BART staffers said the transit board cannot consider a fare higher than $6 without conducting an extensive review to determine that the higher fare would meet civil rights laws.

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